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Given lackluster service would you still buy a Tesla?
- Thread starter gigawhattt
- Start date
Scott-P
Member
Here's my take: The car is generally a very good piece of machinery--definitely one of the most fun-to-drive vehicles out there, and logical, efficient, and as ecologically clean as it is possible to be at present. I have had my S75 since the end of 2016, and am coming up on 50K miles. I have had very few unscheduled service encounters, and the car requires the least amount of maintenance that I have ever encountered in any car. It still puts a smile on my face when I walk up to it, and even more so when I drive it.
On the other hand, in the few service encounters I have had over the past 3 years, I have noted a consistent decrease in the quality of the service. The process of making an appointment has gone from very simple and direct to massively irritating, and while I find the service techs themselves to be helpful and courteous, trying to get to them and get stuff actually done has become truly painful. Loaner vehicles have become rare, and the replacement with Uber vouchers is a joke for someone who actually needs to go specific places to do his work. Fortunately, one does not have to deal with this too often.
The quality of the software updates has been consistently poor, seems to be getting worse, and routinely new software "updates" break functions of the vehicle which previously worked fine--from the user perspective, it appears that no actual software testing is done at all, and any new code is just thrown out to the masses, and then the identified problems are (slowly) fixed over several months. And then the process repeats. The point of all of these "updates" seems to be the eternal pursuit of "full self-driving", essentially without regard to any other functions of the vehicle. Personally, I would much prefer windshield wipers that can figure out how to clear the windshield at night, cruise control that works in the rain (and bright sun), and an audio system with an interface that actually allows me to access what I want, when I want it. Alas, that is not to be, since that is not a priority with Tesla.
I am facing this dilemma soon myself. My wife's vehicle is now just at 5 years and 50K miles, and it is time to start thinking about its replacement. She very much wants an EV, but I am not sure that Tesla is the right choice. The charging infra-structure and the familiarity with the design and operation suggests another Tesla, but I suspect that a more conventional manufacturer (read Jaguar, Audi or even *gasp!* Ford) is not likely to have the operational problems that Tesla has created for itself. I really don't know what we will end up doing. This is unfortunate, since with just a bit more thought to service and software, there would have been no question--thus Tesla has taken what should have been an easy sale and turned it into one that they may lose. Until the management of the corporation really gets that fact, I suspect the brand will falter.
OP, to answer your request for advice, I would say think carefully. If the car moves you enough that you will be able to tolerate the infrequent but painful interactions with service and software, then go for it. If not, consider an alternative EV.
On the other hand, in the few service encounters I have had over the past 3 years, I have noted a consistent decrease in the quality of the service. The process of making an appointment has gone from very simple and direct to massively irritating, and while I find the service techs themselves to be helpful and courteous, trying to get to them and get stuff actually done has become truly painful. Loaner vehicles have become rare, and the replacement with Uber vouchers is a joke for someone who actually needs to go specific places to do his work. Fortunately, one does not have to deal with this too often.
The quality of the software updates has been consistently poor, seems to be getting worse, and routinely new software "updates" break functions of the vehicle which previously worked fine--from the user perspective, it appears that no actual software testing is done at all, and any new code is just thrown out to the masses, and then the identified problems are (slowly) fixed over several months. And then the process repeats. The point of all of these "updates" seems to be the eternal pursuit of "full self-driving", essentially without regard to any other functions of the vehicle. Personally, I would much prefer windshield wipers that can figure out how to clear the windshield at night, cruise control that works in the rain (and bright sun), and an audio system with an interface that actually allows me to access what I want, when I want it. Alas, that is not to be, since that is not a priority with Tesla.
I am facing this dilemma soon myself. My wife's vehicle is now just at 5 years and 50K miles, and it is time to start thinking about its replacement. She very much wants an EV, but I am not sure that Tesla is the right choice. The charging infra-structure and the familiarity with the design and operation suggests another Tesla, but I suspect that a more conventional manufacturer (read Jaguar, Audi or even *gasp!* Ford) is not likely to have the operational problems that Tesla has created for itself. I really don't know what we will end up doing. This is unfortunate, since with just a bit more thought to service and software, there would have been no question--thus Tesla has taken what should have been an easy sale and turned it into one that they may lose. Until the management of the corporation really gets that fact, I suspect the brand will falter.
OP, to answer your request for advice, I would say think carefully. If the car moves you enough that you will be able to tolerate the infrequent but painful interactions with service and software, then go for it. If not, consider an alternative EV.
The Columbus OH SC rocks axx!!! I just had two back to back repairs and service, one by my own fault (smash mirror and scratches), and they always reply to messages on the phone app, are flexible with times, and always have a loaner. they make you feel welcome.
Just saying
I feel your pain, I wish Tesla focused more on rapid expansion and training at high owner concentration area service centers.
Just saying
I feel your pain, I wish Tesla focused more on rapid expansion and training at high owner concentration area service centers.
whitex
Well-Known Member
I read someone sum it up fairly well "Teslas are a dream to drive, a pain to own". Having purchased 4 of them, my anecdotal story is every car required some corrections, some a few (e.g. my 2017 MS required 4 side mirror assemblies before getting one which would not fail in a month). Once corrected though, they seem to hold up ok, unless, and this is a big one, you get into an accident, then you're pretty much screwed. If you live somewhere with a lot of Teslas, even the wait list to get an estimate can be many weeks long, and the insurance company can do nothing to speed it up. Once you get an estimate, you hope it's a totaled car, because parts take weeks or months to get there (I once waited 4 months for a seat). The positive stories you hear are often from pre-2018, before the Model 3 flood - service really used to be awesome then, that is why I kept buying a car from a car company which required more service when new than any car I've owned before. Sometime you also hear occasional, almost PR intended, amazing story, like when Tesla was refusing to fix the the yellowing screens - one or two people online posted "Tesla fixed it for me", but it turned out that it took many months for Tesla to make it available to more than just a few hand-full of people, and to date it is still not available to everyone who has that problem (and it also is considered a good will service, not a warranty fix, so if you get one, that is the only one you get).
Personally, I almost bought a new P100D last summer, but my experience with my wife's P75D convinced me to not even bother test driving one. My P85D (700hp car according to Elon, 691hp according to Design Studio order page, 463hp according to Tesla admission a couple of years after I bought it) is out of warranty, which is odd for me, because I don't usually keep cars this long. Which bring me to the other part of Tesla ownership, never buy one for any future features, they usually are underwhelming when they come, and ofter they never come at all (e,g. P85D 691hp, or AP1 meet me at the curb summon) - if it doesn't work on delivery day, assume it will never work (vice versa is not true though, browser worked well for me on delivery day, it's dead today). Whicn brings us to Tesla software. It shifted from being designed for the driver experience, to being a tablet app in anticipation of full self driving, where your car's job is to entertain you while the car drives. Sadly, the function of car driving you while you watch movies never came, and Tesla redefined what full self driving means in 2019, so even they don't claim it will drive you without you watching over it like a hawk, leaving the tablet interface on the car is just stupid, and sometimes dangerous as it requires you to take you eyes off the road for few seconds to do things like turn on heaters, raise/lower suspension, etc. Lastly there is the Tesla obsoletetion of hardware. If you have a pre 2018 Tesla, you have an old main computer (MCU) which no longer gets features, the updates are not very tested on much (so things break for months at a time, like the browser, or new features like ability to turn on winter package via app), and it keeps getting slower every release - kind of like trying to run the latest iOS on a 4 year old iPhone - still works, but slow and with missing features.
So, why do I still have 2 Teslas? Because I am waiting for a car as much fun to drive and similar capabilities from another manufacturer. Also, I figure if I'm paying for repairs, I have the power to say "no thanks, I will come back when you guys do have a loaner for me if you want my money". I also have an option to fix things myself, like the failing emmc which Tesla charges $3K for, which I can replace for $10 and day worth of of work.
Bottom line, Tesla cars drive like no other on the market today, but ownership experience is lacking and seems to be getting worse as time goes by. Tesla is a new company car, the cars are unfortunately still beta cars for early adopters, which used to be offset by amazing service. I always said what kept me coming back to Tesla was their service, now that it isn't there anymore, so I stopped coming back to buy more. Now, I'm anxiously waiting for someone else to come up with a car as much fun to drive..
Personally, I almost bought a new P100D last summer, but my experience with my wife's P75D convinced me to not even bother test driving one. My P85D (700hp car according to Elon, 691hp according to Design Studio order page, 463hp according to Tesla admission a couple of years after I bought it) is out of warranty, which is odd for me, because I don't usually keep cars this long. Which bring me to the other part of Tesla ownership, never buy one for any future features, they usually are underwhelming when they come, and ofter they never come at all (e,g. P85D 691hp, or AP1 meet me at the curb summon) - if it doesn't work on delivery day, assume it will never work (vice versa is not true though, browser worked well for me on delivery day, it's dead today). Whicn brings us to Tesla software. It shifted from being designed for the driver experience, to being a tablet app in anticipation of full self driving, where your car's job is to entertain you while the car drives. Sadly, the function of car driving you while you watch movies never came, and Tesla redefined what full self driving means in 2019, so even they don't claim it will drive you without you watching over it like a hawk, leaving the tablet interface on the car is just stupid, and sometimes dangerous as it requires you to take you eyes off the road for few seconds to do things like turn on heaters, raise/lower suspension, etc. Lastly there is the Tesla obsoletetion of hardware. If you have a pre 2018 Tesla, you have an old main computer (MCU) which no longer gets features, the updates are not very tested on much (so things break for months at a time, like the browser, or new features like ability to turn on winter package via app), and it keeps getting slower every release - kind of like trying to run the latest iOS on a 4 year old iPhone - still works, but slow and with missing features.
So, why do I still have 2 Teslas? Because I am waiting for a car as much fun to drive and similar capabilities from another manufacturer. Also, I figure if I'm paying for repairs, I have the power to say "no thanks, I will come back when you guys do have a loaner for me if you want my money". I also have an option to fix things myself, like the failing emmc which Tesla charges $3K for, which I can replace for $10 and day worth of of work.
Bottom line, Tesla cars drive like no other on the market today, but ownership experience is lacking and seems to be getting worse as time goes by. Tesla is a new company car, the cars are unfortunately still beta cars for early adopters, which used to be offset by amazing service. I always said what kept me coming back to Tesla was their service, now that it isn't there anymore, so I stopped coming back to buy more. Now, I'm anxiously waiting for someone else to come up with a car as much fun to drive..
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I have owned two Model Ss and have had great service. Even if it had not been stellar, it beats having to constantly buy gas and get oil changes.
This appears to be a problem for S and X only. Model 3 parts seem to be readily available.
So as of now given the cost of getting my used model S p90dl and potential headaches with the car I am going to keep my daily ice vehicle (I also have an old 911 as a hobby car which I’ll never sell). Gonna consider a Ford Mustang EV. Legacy automaker, servicing and still has 7500 tax credit. If I need a vehicle before that becomes available maybe I’ll go model 3 performance. I feel the risk of a 5 year old model S just isn’t worth it given the cost
I’m on my second model S - first one was a 2015 S 85D and upgraded to a 2017 S 100D at the end of ‘17. Personally, I’ve experienced nothing but excellent service and communication for the service center in Devon, PA.
3 years and 44k miles on my Model S. So far, great experience. And considering I have spent very little time needing to service the vehicle, I don’t put much weight in the service experience. I care more about what affects me 99% of the time.... Which is the car driving experience and I love it.
But that is also because I am fine with just scheduling through the app. If you are one that absolutely has to be able to call and talk to a human, you will be disappointed. I’d rather just spend the 3 minutes using the app and wait for the response instead of waiting on the line. It would be nice if Tesla still had a call center for those people, but they don’t. The mobile service coming to my house makes up for this IMO.
Accident repair times appear to be reduced as Tesla is getting better about supplying parts these days.
What amazes me is that many people on here assume that Jaguar, Audi, GM, Ford and other EVs will be better. Spend any time on their forums and you will realize that they have their own set of issues.
Model 3 repairs definitely seem to be getting quicker.
But that is also because I am fine with just scheduling through the app. If you are one that absolutely has to be able to call and talk to a human, you will be disappointed. I’d rather just spend the 3 minutes using the app and wait for the response instead of waiting on the line. It would be nice if Tesla still had a call center for those people, but they don’t. The mobile service coming to my house makes up for this IMO.
Accident repair times appear to be reduced as Tesla is getting better about supplying parts these days.
What amazes me is that many people on here assume that Jaguar, Audi, GM, Ford and other EVs will be better. Spend any time on their forums and you will realize that they have their own set of issues.
Model 3 repairs definitely seem to be getting quicker.
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SW2Fiddler
We Are Cognitive Dissidents
Talked this week to the body shop that in 2017 had my S for four weeks. Shop manager said yeah, it’s a LOT easier and quicker now to get parts than it was then.
They should know!
geoffmanley
Member
I think what we have been seeing over the last year or so is "normal" service. I'll admit that in the early years the service was unmatched, coming to your house with a loaner, fixing anything under "goodwill", washing your car, etc. I'm still as happy or happier with the service compared to my previous BMW, Infiniti, or Mercedes.
Bodyhauler
Ruby Duby
The car is great! I think the service depends on your location. My service center has done great work when I needed it. I bought my car knowing that service would probably not be good. But really, the car doesn't need much servicing.
I've bought a Ford once and the vehicle was great but the buying process was beyond horrible and servicing the vehicle was good some days and bad some days.
Since buying my Tesla I've only had some cosmetic service done and haven't had any real problems with the service. As far as the driving, I haven't had any problems that need servicing.
My other ICE vehicles Iv'e owned have had to have lots of servicing.
So owning a Tesla is worth it!
I've bought a Ford once and the vehicle was great but the buying process was beyond horrible and servicing the vehicle was good some days and bad some days.
Since buying my Tesla I've only had some cosmetic service done and haven't had any real problems with the service. As far as the driving, I haven't had any problems that need servicing.
My other ICE vehicles Iv'e owned have had to have lots of servicing.
So owning a Tesla is worth it!
M3BlueGeorgia
Active Member
Depends on the damage.
If you have damage to the painted metalwork, you have to use a body shop and that's always been an unpleasant experience, regardless of whether its a Tesla or not.
So far my non-metalwork repairs have been amazing.
1) Guy hit me on the rear. Tesla repaired the damage in under an hour for $1175 (paid by insurance)
2) I caught a stone pillar while backing and ripped off the left front of the car. Tesla repaired that in about 2 hours for about $2200 (paid by me)
Both times, it took about three weeks to get the car into them, but the car was driveable.
For the second damage, I also had Tesla do a quick inspection the next day on our temporary repair (aka the Magic of duck tape)
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I've had phenomenal service from the Rocklin, CA SC. Shocking at first to find a paint defect so bad it needed the A-pillar repainted and also both front half-shafts replaced on a 4-month old Raven S, but the SC took care of everything. The team at the Rocklin, SC bends backwards to take care of customers.
I was concerned at first with all the repair stories and long waits caused by a backlog of plastic clips. A buddy with a Model 3 confirmed that it took a month to get his windshield replaced after a rock hit it on the freeway. Despite all of that, he loves his car, and I would love to get another Tesla. I no longer have interest in ICE cars from Lexus, MB, BMW, and Audi. Nothing else compares to a Tesla when you combine performance/range, tech, price, charging network, and our Raven S is even better than when new due to OTA updates. Another buddy just took delivery of a base Model 3 on 12/31/2019 and it is still a helluva car compared to ICE options.
Besides, many issues can be fixed remotely and by the mobile rangers without you having to go to the SC. Rather than worrying about service, I think a greater concern is Superchargers becoming more congested after Model Y goes on sale and even more Teslas hit the road.
I was concerned at first with all the repair stories and long waits caused by a backlog of plastic clips. A buddy with a Model 3 confirmed that it took a month to get his windshield replaced after a rock hit it on the freeway. Despite all of that, he loves his car, and I would love to get another Tesla. I no longer have interest in ICE cars from Lexus, MB, BMW, and Audi. Nothing else compares to a Tesla when you combine performance/range, tech, price, charging network, and our Raven S is even better than when new due to OTA updates. Another buddy just took delivery of a base Model 3 on 12/31/2019 and it is still a helluva car compared to ICE options.
Besides, many issues can be fixed remotely and by the mobile rangers without you having to go to the SC. Rather than worrying about service, I think a greater concern is Superchargers becoming more congested after Model Y goes on sale and even more Teslas hit the road.
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PhantmMenace
Member
Not an S owner but nine months in my Model 3. The car has been trouble free and my Tesla service center has been responsive to all inquiries made regarding bugs. I did have a claim for damage. A $2000 claim with lower rear rocker panel impact and had it back within a week 1/2 at a Tesla approved body shop plus I had a Tesla loaner vehicle. Tesla service chat has always been helpful as well. I have nothing negative to report so far and I’m simply loving my Tesla. I’m a converted fanboy.
OrbiterTI4
Member
I agree with this sentiment - my biggest gripes/concern over owning a Tesla vehicle has not been experiences with the service center (I think I counted up 18 visits for 2 vehicles over 84 months combined, and no negative encounters to report) but rather cashflow/cost/lost time (if Tesla goes bankrupt tomorrow, can you take the net worth hit? If you hit someone tomorrow, can you handle being out of a vehicle for 4 months? Is this your only car and has to be on the road all the time, no questions/exceptions?).
NoMoGasBro
Woman who owns a P100D!
I too have not had any issues with Tesla service per se. If anything they've had to deal with my uncooperativeness. However, the repair times are a little ridiculous (5 months into ownership a teen girl hit the left front side of my car. I was stopped so the damage wasn't too major) and all I needed replaced was the bumper, headlight, and drivers side fender and it took almost 2 months to have my car repaired. The car didn't have structural damage so almost 2 months for the small work that needed to be done was absolutely absurd to me. I had been in 3 different rental cars during that time period. I remember that when my 7 series got into a minor fender bender (something very similar to what happened to my S) it took a week before I was back into my car. I love everything about my Tesla service experience, however, the repair times are what makes me upset about owning a Tesla. My advice to everyone is to NOT get in a wreck, it makes your life a wreck.
M3BlueGeorgia
Active Member
By the negative title to the thread, he's overly influenced by TSLAQ
BTW getting body work done, sucks on all vehicles.
Two good examples:
My daughter's Subaru was basically undrivable for nearly two months waiting for parts after a minor fender-bender. The parts were backordered from overseas.
We lost use of the Honda Accord ( the car before the Tesla) for a month after a truck backed into it at low speed.
Basically, dealing with body shops is the pits.
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